Chapter 98: The Storage Ring
"Indeed!" Master Qingxu chuckled. "Danzi is right; Xiaomeng is truly eloquent and quick-witted. Xiaomeng, this is your strength, and I hope you will develop it further. Sometimes, sharp words can conquer more than a thousand armies!"
"Yes!" Rabbit Xiaomeng replied crisply. "Master, I will remember your earnest teachings!"
As they spoke, they finished breakfast and left the dining table together, heading to the living room. Master Qingxu entered his bedroom and brought out three pairs of long silk socks, two pairs of "Curved-Toe Shoes," one pair of "Cloud Shoes," and three sets of new clothes—two "Chest-High Ru Skirts," one large and one small, and a "Round-Collared Robe." He handed them to Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er with a gentle smile:
"Xiaoyue, Xiaomeng, Songta’er, these three pairs of shoes and socks and three sets of clothing were specially tailored and activated with the 'Paper Painting Talisman Technique' last night by your master... Now, go back to your rooms to change. Then, at the fourth quarter of the Chen hour, when the sun rises and the purple aura comes from the east, we shall perform the formal disciple-taking ceremony together!"
"Yes, Master!" Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er responded in unison, happily taking their shoes, socks, and clothes back to their rooms to change.
In the blink of an eye, it was the fourth quarter of the Chen hour, the sun rising and the purple aura emerging from the east.
In front of Qingxu Temple, Master Qingxu lit a tall incense stick in the censer using his Fire Control Technique and sat solemnly. Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er, now dressed in their refreshed attire, knelt before him in the disciple-taking ritual.
Yan Chixia, also dressed in a clean white robe, stood beside, watching joyfully.
After the trio completed the grand disciple-taking ceremony with heartfelt emotion and stood up, Master Qingxu solemnly said:
"Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, Songta’er, from today onward, you, like Danzi, are my formal disciples. Now, I shall bestow upon each of you a Taoist name:
Bai Xiaoyue, your name is 'Mingzi'; Rabbit Xiaomeng, yours is 'Congzi'; Songta’er, you shall be called 'Chizi.' From now on, I will address you as Mingzi, Congzi, and Chizi respectively.
Mingzi, Congzi, Chizi, just like Danzi, you are my most beloved disciples. Henceforth, I will teach you all the Taoist arts with the same dedication as I have to Danzi."
As the ceremony concluded, Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er were greatly moved and exclaimed:
"Yes, we will follow Master’s teachings diligently!"
Yan Chixia, delighted by the completion of the ritual, stepped forward to congratulate them:
"Sister, Xiaomeng, Songta’er, congratulations!"
"Thank you, thank you..." Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er all replied with radiant smiles.
At that moment, Master Qingxu waved his hand, and four exquisitely crafted “Storage Rings” appeared, shimmering in his right palm.
Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er recognized these as summoned from Master Qingxu’s personal storage space and gasped in surprise and joy, exclaiming together:
"Storage rings?!"
"Correct!" Master Qingxu responded loudly. "These Storage Rings were secretly forged by me last night in the alchemy chamber because I couldn’t sleep. Danzi, I originally intended to give you one when you first arrived at Qingxu Temple, but I hesitated, thinking you might not have much to store. Yesterday, seeing She Meier wearing a Storage Ring moved me deeply, and I realized I must give each of you one. These four rings are identical in shape and each has the capacity of a room. However, I have inscribed the seals ‘Dan,’ ‘Ming,’ ‘Cong,’ and ‘Chi’ on the back of each ring to mark them."
With that, Master Qingxu handed the four Storage Rings to Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, Rabbit Xiaomeng, and Songta’er respectively. Grasping their very first magical tools, each couldn’t help but gaze at their rings with tears filling their eyes, overwhelmed with emotion and at a loss for words.
At this moment, Master Qingxu called out:
"Danzi, Mingzi, Congzi, Chizi, put on your Storage Rings now. Then, I will teach you the spells for storing and summoning items using the rings."
Hearing this, Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, and Rabbit Xiaomeng promptly agreed and slipped the Storage Rings onto the middle fingers of their right hands—choosing the right middle finger because they had seen She Meier wear hers there. Songta’er, careless, had not noticed this detail but quickly followed suit upon seeing them.
Master Qingxu nodded approvingly and said in a clear voice:
"The spell for using the Storage Ring is quite simple. When storing an item, silently recite: ‘Storage Ring, heed my command, store this object as mine.’ At the same time, send your intention to the ring, and it will store the item as you wish. When you want to summon an item from the ring, silently recite: ‘Storage Ring, heed my command, deliver the stored item to me.’ Again, send your intention to the ring, and it will present the item you desire. Danzi, Mingzi, Congzi, Chizi, now practice using your Storage Rings."
They all responded affirmatively and began silently reciting the spells as Master Qingxu had instructed. Songta’er, blushing, looked at Master Qingxu with some embarrassment and asked:
"Master, I’ve memorized the storage and summoning spells, but what exactly do you mean by ‘intention’?"
"Ah, how silly!" Rabbit Xiaomeng quickly answered before Master Qingxu could respond. "Songta’er, ‘intention’ means what you think in your heart. For example," she casually pointed to the wooden stool Master Qingxu had just been sitting on, "if you want to store this stool in your Storage Ring, while silently reciting the spell ‘Storage Ring, heed my command, store this object as mine,’ you imagine placing the stool inside the ring..."
As she spoke, with a sudden swish, the stool vanished. She gasped in alarm:
"Ah? Where did the stool go?"
"Heh heh heh," Yan Chixia couldn’t contain his joy, "Xiaomeng just stored the stool in her Storage Ring!"